Hamartiology

As a standard disclaimer, I'm still gay, I'm not much of a Christian, and I do not have much in the way of faith.

But I started thinking a little bit about sin this week after I did something unquestionably wrong. I can't discuss the details, because doing so would cause more harm. The surprising thing about the event was that it was something I'd never before done, and something I never imagined I was capable of doing.

It got me thinking about how some temptations hold great power over me (sloth) while others mean nothing to me (anger, gluttony), and how for others the relative strengths of these temptations differ greatly.

I think for many of us, we can categorize our failings into those laws which we commonly break (a "three F's" sin: fuck up, forgiven, forgotton) and those that we seldom or never break.

The depth of our struggle with a certain type of behavior is often correlated with with the amount of empathy felt for those with similar struggles. If I spend way too much time watching p0rn, just as an example, I can empathize with those with similar difficulties. I would be more likely to categorize as minor infractions those things with which I have struggled. Those sins I have never committed become categorized as major or mortal sins.

It is important to recognize the logical flaws in this inherent tendency. It is the individual, not God, that is doing the categorization. It is the individual, not God, determining how God should react and behave.

The church, as a collection of usually similar individuals, makes similar collective decisions. They are there to embrace those that have failed, to lead them back to the Christ, but, only if the individuals in the church can understand and empathize with the sins committed by those that have lost their way. For "mortal" sins, there can be no empathy, and thus no incentive to minister.

A raw diamond can be polished, but, a lump of coal is just a lump of coal.

This categorization and empathy effect can cause tunnel vision when looking at behavior.

An example...

There is much discussion about how gay marriage denigrates marriage. This seems to garner special attention because same-sex sex is something most people cannot imagine themselves doing. Its very alienness makes it seem more transgressive. Marriages today, however, usually struggle with more common problems: extra-marital sex, financial imprudence, workaholism, gluttony. To focus on the rare without focussing on the common can only lead to rare successes with common failures.

Interestingly, the idea of original sin, that we all suffer because of the sins committed by Adam and Eve, ends up creating a more democratic theology than the tabula rasa idea, where we are born sinless, but inevitably fail. The idea of original sin reinforces our understanding that all people need equal amounts of Christ.

Most American Christians, despite the doctrines of their various faith traditions, act as if they believe in the tabula rasa idea, and its correllary: bad people need more Christ than good people.

And yet, because of the implicit divisions of sin into minor and major, understandable and incomprehensible, the American Christian is less likely to minister to those whom he or she believes is in greater need of Christ.

Whatever.

San Dimas High School Football rules!!!!